Tony Pollard's exit from Sunday's Divisional playoff against the San Francisco 49ers cost the Dallas Cowboys dear.
Pollard was carted off in the closing stages of the second quarter with a low-scoring game tied at 6-6 at Levi's Stadium.
The running back did not return, and the 49ers claimed a 19-12 win as the Cowboys looked lost on offense in the second half.
Initial reports detailed a high ankle sprain for Pollard, but it has since emerged he also sustained a fracture to his left fibula that will require surgery.
Pollard would therefore have been unavailable for the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles even if the Cowboys had scraped through.
That never appeared likely without Pollard on the field at the end of a career year, however.
The 25-year-old finished the regular season with 1,007 rushing yards, the most on a Dallas team who ran on 45 per cent of plays – the seventh-highest rate in the NFL.
Pollard had nine rushing touchdowns and added a further three receiving scores from 39 catches for 371 yards.
In the Wild Card win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pollard ran for 77 yards at an average of 5.1, well ahead of team-mate Ezekiel Elliott's 2.1 yards per carry.
Elliott, who had a comparatively difficult season, could not carry the load in Pollard's absence in San Francisco, finishing with the same number of yards from scrimmage (33) as the injured star despite playing the full game.
Quarterback Dak Prescott acknowledged afterwards Pollard's injury "hurt us", but the first-time Pro Bowler must now hope the serious nature of the problem is not the source of more hurt.
Pollard will become an unrestricted free agent in March, at which point he will still be rehabilitating his left leg.
Texans wide receiver Dell shot, suffers minor wound
Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell was shot as an innocent bystander and sustained a minor wound outside a nightclub in Samford, Florida on Saturday night.
The team said Dell has already been released from the hospital and is “in good spirits.”
A total of 10 people were wounded in the shooting, but all the injuries are non-life threatening.
Houston selected Dell in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and the Daytona Beach, Florida native had 47 catches for 709 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games last season.
Dell did not play after Week 13 due to a fractured fibula.
Napoli 2-2 Roma: Late Abraham header denies wasteful hosts
A wasteful Napoli were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Roma in Serie A, with a late Tammy Abraham header securing a point for the visitors.
The visitors took the lead from the penalty spot a minute before the hour mark, with Paulo Dybala converting after Juan Jesus fouled Sardar Amzoun.
However, Napoli equalised six minutes later through Matias Olivera's deflected shot, and completed the turnaround with their own penalty six minutes from time as Victor Osimhen tucked away after Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was felled by Renato Sanches.
The hosts could not hold on, though, and were pegged back with two minutes to go. Substitute Abraham's header from a corner was eventually awarded following a VAR review after he had initially been ruled offside.
Data debrief
Napoli remain eighth in the Serie A table on 50 points, the exact amount they had registered after their opening 19 games of last season.
Though his penalty was not enough to earn Roma victory, Dybala continued his impressive start to 2024, during which he has been involved in the joint-most goals in Serie A with 12 (nine goals, three assists).
Lyon are through to their 11th Women's Champions League final after sealing a 5-3 aggregate victory over compatriots Paris Saint-Germain.
The record eight-time winners scored three times in the final 10 minutes of last week's first leg to take a narrow 3-2 lead into the return fixture at Parc des Princes.
However, they were quicker out of the blocks in the second leg, with just three minutes on the clock when Selma Bacha drilled home from range for her first Champions League strike in five-and-a-half years.
Tabitha Chawinga responded before the break to reduce PSG's aggregate deficit to a single goal, but Melchie Dumornay put the tie beyond doubt nine minutes from time, as Sonia Bompastor's side set up a final showdown with Barcelona on May 25.
Data debrief
Lyon continued their dominance over PSG in Champions League semi-final encounters, having now progressed from each of their last four such ties.
The eight-time champions lost their first two semi-finals they contested in this competition, but have now won each of the last 10, and will seek a record-extending ninth title in Bilbao next month.
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